Inland Empire Chapter of CAMFT

Trauma and Dissociation: An Introduction to Trauma Conversion Therapy

Patrick Poor, LMFT

Trauma Conversion Therapy (TCT) focuses therapy on what releases the pain, and the symptoms and treats the cause of the problem, not the symptoms and allows the client to heal much faster with relatively little pain. TCT is used with clients who have had at least one traumatic experience that still affects them in a negative way. It allows them to convert the experience they are still stuck in, into memory, and “The Pain” goes away. As the pain goes away, so do the symptoms. An undiagnosed and untreated Dissociative Disorder exists in a high percentage of clients with such disorders as: Substance Abuse, Personality, Gender, Sexual, Mood, Eating, Anxiety, Impulse Control, Reactive Attachment, Disruptive Behavior,… the list goes on!

Objectives:

To obtain basic awareness of how to:

1. Recognize presence of Dissociative Disorders

2. Treat persons with Dissociative disorders

3. Understand basics of theory and practice of Trauma Conversion Therapy.

4. Become more effective in treating clients with old pain

Bio:

Patrick Poor received his Master’s degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Cal State University, Fullerton in 1991. He is licensed in California and Utah as a Marriage and Family Therapist. He has had specialized training and 16 years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of trauma and dissociative disorders. He also trains other therapists in this technique called Trauma Conversion Therapy. He is a CEU provider for the California State Board of Behavioral Sciences. He has three years teaching experience in Special Education and is knowledgeable about learning disabilities.

His professional affiliations include:

California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation

American Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists

Patrick believes in treating the causes of symptoms, not the symptoms themselves. Symptoms can include: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, anger, violence, phobias, addictions, compulsions, obsessions, and many other thoughts and behaviors that people use to cover up the pain. Overreactions and feeling out of control at times can also be caused by old pain. His technique allows clients to convert the trauma they are still stuck in into memory and the pain is released. Hence the term Trauma Conversion Therapy. It is a simple process, very effective, and usually short-term (less than 20 sessions). Clients have described the technique as “quick,” “powerful,” “effective,” and “compassionate.”

Synopsis:

We had the pleasure of learning from Patrick Poor, MFT, how clients with trauma and dissociative disorders can be treated effectively with Trauma Conversion Therapy (TCT). Patrick has specialized training and 16 years of experience treating trauma and dissociative disorders. Patrick also trains other therapist's in TCT. Before we can understand how TCT works, we must first understand what happens when a person experiences trauma, according to TCT. When a person experiences a traumatic event, a part of them breaks off to hold the emotional and physical pain of the trauma so the person can go about functioning in their day to day living. This part of the person that breaks off is called an Alter. Because the Alter holds the pain inside the body to enable the person to function, the pain is unprocessed and often causes a variety of unpleasant symptoms that can be debilitating to the person.

The basis of TCT is to reach the person's Alter and have the Alter release the trauma pain so that the pain is let go. The originating pain will no longer be stuck inside the person when the Alter lets it go.

When the originating pain carried by the client’s Alter is let go, the client experiences a disappearance of the unpleasant symptoms induced by the original pain carried by the Alter. Patrick discussed the following general steps for treating clients using TCT:

1. Use a form of deep relaxation, such as progressive muscle relaxation, to relax the client.

2. Once the client is in deep relaxation, the therapist can then ask permission to speak to the client's

Alter(s).

3. The therapist needs to ask the Alter(s) to tell the story of the trauma, including what happened, how it felt, and all the painful memories it has held.

** IT IS NECESSARY to have the Alter(s) be the one (s) to tell the story because they are the ones holding all the pain that is causing the symptoms! 4. As the Alter(s) tell their stories, healing occurs by releasing the unprocessed pain, and thus Alter(s) mature to the age of the body.

5. When the Alter matures to the age of the body, the entire human system (body and Alter) can re-join and re-integrate, causing the unpleasant symptoms to go away.

**It's important to note that Alter(s) do not die; because they are part of the person they need to rejoin the system, without the old pain, for the system to heal.

TCT can be used effectively to treat a number of DSM-IV disorders including substance use, somatoform, personality, gender, sexual, mood, eating, and anxiety disorders. There are also a wide range of advantages for using TCT. Compared to traditional therapies used to treat trauma, TCT is a short-term therapy, usually lasting 10-20 sessions. With TCT, a client does not have to re-live the trauma because the Alter(s) tell the story of the originating trauma. Because the client is not the one re-living the trauma, there is no drop in the client's daily functioning. Finally, a huge advantage for the therapist's practicing TCT is that there is no vicarious traumatization of the therapist, which leads to less burnout. Overall, TCT is an excellent tool to have as a therapist because it can be effective and efficient for treating a wide range of DSM-IV disorders, especially if other types of therapies are not working.